metal detecting for kids

How To Make Metal Detecting A Fun Activity For Kids

Metal detecting has been around for quite some time. Even though it started as an investigative means for the army,  it has become one of the most popular hobbies worldwide.  Contrary to popular belief,  metal detecting is not exclusive to adults but can be performed by children as well.  This, of course, requires small metal detectors specially made for children, but aside from that, the quest for hidden treasure remains about the same.  Here are some of the best tips on how to make metal detecting a fun activity for kids.

Why it’s great

There are many reasons why metal detecting is one of the most fun activities for kids.  In addition to being a great activity overall,  it’s also great for the lockdown period due to the worldwide Covid pandemic. Let’s review all the reasons why this is such a fun and useful activity for kids.  First and foremost, metal detecting is an outdoor activity, which may be an efficient way to keep your children away from the electronics inside the house. Secondly, metal detecting is quite inexpensive, contrary to popular belief.  Many inexpensive entry-level detectors can give hours and hours of entertainment.

Apart from being an outdoor activity and inexpensive, metal detecting also makes exercise fun. As you’re well aware, kids and adults alike can go for long walks all around in search of a buried treasure. Last but not the least, metal detecting can be quite educational. It is all more beneficial if you are homeschooling your children, and you can build in metal detecting as a teaching method to make it more fun. Finding out about the history of the potential size and properties of different metals can add a more in-depth element to learning.

Seed The Lawn

The first place you should start with when you’re teaching your children how to detect metal is your yard. This makes for an excellent way to introduce your kids to the basics of metal detecting.  In addition to this, by seeding your lawn, you will enable them to have more experience and more practice early on. Seeding the lawn means burying different kinds of coins,  trinkets, or any other historical items you may have lying around. Be prepared to give out any items you place out, because your children may want to keep them for themselves. After all, that’s what the fun is all about.

Seeding is a great learning opportunity, where you will be able to teach your children the basics and watch them enjoy the practice. Ultimately, they are less likely to stumble upon buried treasures in those amounts anywhere else, so they will appreciate the experience. However, you should make it clear that this is an exercise, and you should manage expectations for metal detecting “in the wild”. If you want to make this especially fun,  you can make a small contest of it. This will bring even more and when there are prizes involved.

Use Kids Metal Detectors

Well, you may be wondering how your children are ever going to carry a big metal detector around, there is a whole world of kids metal detectors out there.  Metal detectors have been the tools of very young Adventurers for quite some time.  This being said,  there are some extra considerations you need to keep in mind when buying a metal detector for a child. Metal detectors for kids should be easy to handle, and appropriate for their level of interest. In addition to this, you should look for a metal detector that is easy to use and has a lightweight design.

Even though these may sound obvious, there are also some other key points to consider before purchasing a metal detector for a child.  In addition to ease of use and lightweight design, a kid’s metal detector should have high durability, it should be reasonably priced, it would need to be able to detect metal because many toy detectors don’t, and lastly it should be suitable for the child’s age and attention span. Additional features to look for in a kids’ metal detector are manual controls and an adjustable pole, which will make it much easier for them to use.

Where to Go Metal Detecting with Kids

Even though you may already have some specifics about where you want to go searching for treasures,  you should revisit your choice with some things in mind.  Not all children will have the same level of interest and self-discipline, so you should pick the destination solely depending on the children you’re metal detecting with and the situation at hand. That being said, there are some general things to consider when going metal detecting with kids. Firstly, you should think about whether or not there are other activities available to the location aside from metal detecting.  This is best to spot way ahead because they will be less focused on metal detecting with other than activities around.

Once that is out of the way, you can focus solely on metal detecting. However, you should have a fine balance of extra activities because if there is nothing other than metal detecting, then the chances are they will get bored. This is why it might be a good idea to go to a beach, for example, where they can roam around in the waves and come back to metal detecting. The beach is also a great place to take children metal detecting because there may be lost jewelry around in the sand. Metal detecting is one of those activities where you don’t have to work very hard to make it seem fun.

metal detecting
Source: Unsplash

Like the article says,  metal detecting is extremely fun on its own,  especially for children, and you won’t have to work very hard to make it fun. Start by seeding the lawn,  where you can teach them the basics of metal detecting techniques and etiquette. From down on, you can build up to exploring the beach or any other outdoor land that you have access to.  Last but not least,  be sure to provide your children with metal detectors specially made for kids because otherwise, they won’t be able to do it.

Last Updated on August 6, 2021

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